Report of 1 Jan 2019
Hello and happy New Year!
The sea is blue, a goat is bleating downstairs and it is a pretty, sunny day outside. My favorite husband is poring over accounts, I have caught up on newspapers and am happily blogging.
Last week was fine. Kovalam is a great place to work and our reach appears to be expanding. We perennially have many patients. After watching Dr. Usha, another Chennai doctor, at work in her clinic - never reprimanding patients, never a stern voice - I resolved to be thus. Yesterday, we did not stop seeing patients - sometimes, we have to stop taking names at 12 PM, to ensure everyone is seen and we have time for lunch - and we plonked on. There is a fairly genial fisherman who comes often; he has had a stroke and is now dizzy. He unfailingly states complaints in a tone that indicates we are responsible for them: "Yes, I am dizzy!!" Yesterday, I kind of had had it, and said, "You know, Sir, all of us slave for all of you. There is never a word of gratitude or kindness from your mouth. If there were, I would faint." The other patient in the room quickly said appreciative things about us and we resumed work.
I imagine whether the service is free or not, people will find fault if they wish to. That is our nature. One year, my father had a fairly precious ticket to see the Indian cricket team in action; he was the commentator for the match. I went to see the match, and was bored by lunch-time, so left; I'd rather play cricket than watch it. I then gave the ticket to our neighbor's son, and asked him later how the match was; his accusing reply - "Well, I could only watch it from half-time onwards." Yes, I think now, it might have been better than not being able to watch it at all?
Adaikalam is also okay. I have not been for a couple of weeks and will go on Thursday.
After the clinic last Monday, Scott and I went peeling off to Bangalore. My sister-in-law hosted Christmas and we had a merry time. My brother and his family came from Mysore, where they were vacationing, my father came from Madurai and we met in Bangalore. Lots of food and drink. My sister-in-law is a very hospitable sort, and an excellent cook, so you know we ate to excess. Neither of us serves alcohol, so we did not drink to excess, and that is a good thing. After Christmas, all of us went our separate ways - either home, or short vacations.
Scott and I went to the Maldives for a holiday. Whoever blatantly categorizes Muslims as violent individuals clearly has not been to the Maldives: it is a Muslim country, with the women in hijabs, and peaceful, clean, tourist-friendly, happy and very laissez-faire. The currency, the Rufiyah, is robust and the food immensely tasty. We had a wonderful time there and returned rejuvenated. I like water, thus am always soothed at beaches: the country of Maldives comprises many islands. That said, I find mountains picturesque, too.
We went to sleep at 8.30 PM on New Year's Eve, and "hung out" with the boys today. Both boys were home on NY Eve, watching TV or playing video games, and I laughed; ostensibly, none of us wanted to go partake of any merriment on 31 Dec. It was nice to see the boys; they had been with Scott's cousin and family for Christmas, and we caught up on all the news.
May I take this opportunity to thank all of you for being in my life, for your goodness and geniality and grace, and wish you and your families a happy, healthy and successful 2019!
Unw -
R
The sea is blue, a goat is bleating downstairs and it is a pretty, sunny day outside. My favorite husband is poring over accounts, I have caught up on newspapers and am happily blogging.
Last week was fine. Kovalam is a great place to work and our reach appears to be expanding. We perennially have many patients. After watching Dr. Usha, another Chennai doctor, at work in her clinic - never reprimanding patients, never a stern voice - I resolved to be thus. Yesterday, we did not stop seeing patients - sometimes, we have to stop taking names at 12 PM, to ensure everyone is seen and we have time for lunch - and we plonked on. There is a fairly genial fisherman who comes often; he has had a stroke and is now dizzy. He unfailingly states complaints in a tone that indicates we are responsible for them: "Yes, I am dizzy!!" Yesterday, I kind of had had it, and said, "You know, Sir, all of us slave for all of you. There is never a word of gratitude or kindness from your mouth. If there were, I would faint." The other patient in the room quickly said appreciative things about us and we resumed work.
I imagine whether the service is free or not, people will find fault if they wish to. That is our nature. One year, my father had a fairly precious ticket to see the Indian cricket team in action; he was the commentator for the match. I went to see the match, and was bored by lunch-time, so left; I'd rather play cricket than watch it. I then gave the ticket to our neighbor's son, and asked him later how the match was; his accusing reply - "Well, I could only watch it from half-time onwards." Yes, I think now, it might have been better than not being able to watch it at all?
Adaikalam is also okay. I have not been for a couple of weeks and will go on Thursday.
After the clinic last Monday, Scott and I went peeling off to Bangalore. My sister-in-law hosted Christmas and we had a merry time. My brother and his family came from Mysore, where they were vacationing, my father came from Madurai and we met in Bangalore. Lots of food and drink. My sister-in-law is a very hospitable sort, and an excellent cook, so you know we ate to excess. Neither of us serves alcohol, so we did not drink to excess, and that is a good thing. After Christmas, all of us went our separate ways - either home, or short vacations.
Scott and I went to the Maldives for a holiday. Whoever blatantly categorizes Muslims as violent individuals clearly has not been to the Maldives: it is a Muslim country, with the women in hijabs, and peaceful, clean, tourist-friendly, happy and very laissez-faire. The currency, the Rufiyah, is robust and the food immensely tasty. We had a wonderful time there and returned rejuvenated. I like water, thus am always soothed at beaches: the country of Maldives comprises many islands. That said, I find mountains picturesque, too.
We went to sleep at 8.30 PM on New Year's Eve, and "hung out" with the boys today. Both boys were home on NY Eve, watching TV or playing video games, and I laughed; ostensibly, none of us wanted to go partake of any merriment on 31 Dec. It was nice to see the boys; they had been with Scott's cousin and family for Christmas, and we caught up on all the news.
May I take this opportunity to thank all of you for being in my life, for your goodness and geniality and grace, and wish you and your families a happy, healthy and successful 2019!
Unw -
R
posted by Renu at
2:49 AM
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